Hoping For Hannah

May I recommend a guide?

2010-01-28T03:59:00.000-08:00

It has been snowing up here for a few days now, as it should be all the time. Today a woman called to confirm her reservations for snowmobiles for tomorrow. Sounding somewhat worried she paused during the conversation and asked if there was a possibility of their trip being cancled on account of the weather. I asked what exactly she mention because she couldn't possibily be asking what it sounded like she was asking. But she was. I had to think fast to come up with an answer that wouldn't completely offend her. Um.....mam..... No. Your trip will not be cancled... Snowmobiliers actually really like it when it snows... And on that note I see you haven't requested a guide for your outing tomorrow and may I just Highly recommend one? Or shall we just give search and resque a heads up right now?....... Sometimes I worry about people out there. Another question someone asked my manager was At what elevation does a deer become an elk? Hmmmm...... How do you even answer that without making them feel completely stupid? Well sir it happens at about 8000 feet. It's really quite an amazing thing to see......

Winter Wonder Land

2009-12-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what it is about me choosing places to live and work that are in the middle of nowhere, but I've done it again! For the winter season I've chosen to work at a resort in the Teton Mountains! It is located about 50 miles away from JacksonHole, WY and between here and there its nothing but snow! The resort is specifically for snowmobiling and dog sledging.

And in case anybody is wondering, No, we do NOT live in sheds! thank goodness! AND in our rooms we all have our own Hot water heaters! (I know, talk about an upgrade! It's like they Actually care or something!!)
Did you guys know there is such a thing as a professional snowmobilier. Me either. Until I started to meet them.
Apparently I'm the only one on the mountain who didn't know that KLIM was a snowmobile clothing brand. And I ended up checking in the man who created it. Lets just say that was a somewhat embarrassing situation... but now I even Own some KLIM gear, just to make up for it :)

I get to go snowmobiling a pretty good amount, and I love it! We have some of the best guides in America out here, and they are working on teaching me all kinds of new stuff! It's a lot of fun!! I'm actually working right now, but I'll try to post again soon and tell some cool Crazy stories!!

Another little story..

2009-10-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

One of my friends is a waiter in the Metate Room in Mesa Verde. One night he was serving a couple who may have possibly drank just a bit too much wine. The couple had been on tours all day and were discussing what they would want buried with them if they would have died here. The woman apparently Loved the salt and pepper shakers. Loved them. and told her husband and the waiter that she wanted to be buried with them and kept asking if she could please please be buried with them. We don't normally sell the salt and pepper shakers off the tables. But the woman seemed to love them So much that the server told her to just go ahead and take them, and not to worry about it he would find more, because the woman wanted to be buried with them and who is he to tell her no? So apparently a woman somewhere plans on being buried with some of our salt and pepper shakers.

Just a couple of stories...

2009-10-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

If you think your job is hard, try explaining what Velcro is to a philipeno over the phone. Now, understand, most all the international workers in Mesa Verde speak English very well, but don't know the English words for things like Velcro and dispensers, stuff like that. So I spent about 15 min. on the phone with a woman one day trying to explain to her what velcro is so she could find the knee brace a guest left in their room a couple weeks earlier and now wanted back.

On that subject, if you haven't needed it for 2 months, why are you calling Now to get your hairbrush back? honestly... Because the chances of us actually finding whatever it is you lost 2 months after you lost it in one of our 150 rooms, is slim to none.

Unless you're like our gentleman who left his wheelchair in his room.... Yeah. I was a little surprised to get that phone call.... In which case, we found the wheelchair. but he called a couple days after leaving it.

Sometimes I worry about the future of humanity.

Glass Cups? Really? Of all the things...

2009-09-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

If you’ve never been to Mesa Verde, or have been and want to come back again, I totally recommend this month and into Oct. to come! It is our rainy season, which might not sound that appealing to most people, but I think it is Also our most beautiful season. During the day it is sunny and warm, perfect for going on tours and whatnot, towards the evening it starts to really cool off, and when it gets dark out it starts raining. Most evenings when I take me break I go outside and look at the amazing view. For the past couple weeks I’ve been able to sit there and watch lightning strike out in the distance back and forth from my far left side to my far right side, and sometimes right in the middle. A lot of times I’ll see the lightning strike ground and then flames or smoke come up from that spot. It is probably one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Sometimes the lightning will just bounce around in the clouds for a while before actually coming down. It is breath taking. I highly recommend coming to see it!! The Lodge where I work closes for the season on the 21 of Oct. So if you get the chance, come before then!!

So the other night I was checking in 2 couples who were traveling together and had rooms right next to each other. I gave them their keys, explained to them where breakfast is served and so on, then asked if they had any questions before they went to their room. After rephrasing and repeating myself 3 times they went to go find their room. About 30 min. later I received a phone call from one of the woman.

Me- ‘Thanking you for calling the Far View Lodge, this is Hannah speaking, how may I help you?’

Woman- ‘Yes, we just checked into our rooms, and the couple we are traveling with, who is staying in the room next to us, has glass cups in their room, and we don’t.’

Me-‘ Ok…. Well all of our rooms have glass mugs in them for drinking coffee in the morning.. if your room doesn’t have any I would be more than happy to send some..

Woman- ‘No. We have mugs. They have actual glass cups as well at glass mugs. And if they have glasses in their room we should have them in ours too.’

Me- Ok… I’m not sure why they have glasses in their room. We have plastic cups that should be in all the rooms but we don’t normally have glass ones in there. I’ll make a note and talk to housekeeping in the morning about it, but since I have no idea where they came from or why they are there I can’t get more..

Woman- Well they have glass cups, and we don’t. And we want some too.

Me- ok… Well I’ll talk to my manager and see if we can figure out where they came from and see what I can do about it!

Within the next 30 min the woman called 2 more times to ask about the glass cups, after I told her we did not have anymore and honestly had no idea why they were in there in the first place.
In the end we sent someone to go get the glasses from her friend’s room. If you can’t share nicely No one gets glass cups in their rooms.

Honestly people…

It was actually pretty funny. Out of all the things to complain about….
:)

Oh! And a special note to my Mother dearest
ESN DEC: 13212457528
Model NO: G’zOne Type-S

1-800-full-of-crap

2009-08-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

When most people want to stay at the lodge in Mesa Verde they call the 1-800 number posted on the website to make their reservations. This number connects you to our central reservations, where they will tell you all about the lodge, the park, different packages you can by, etc. So when you actually get to the park, you already have a pretty good idea about what you paid for and what you are going to see! Great system right?

Wrong.

The thing about central reservations is they are actually located in Phoenix and most of the people who work there have never actually stayed at the lodge, or even been to the park. They go off of what they have been told to say, sometimes adding in their own special twists to make you want to get different packages or stay longer. Now, I'm not saying central reservations is bad, and I'm not saying that they intentionally mislead people. All I'm saying is that They do not have to deal with the people in person once they arrive at the park and do not have a view of the dwellings from their window, or when they find out that we don't have a swimming pool, and there are no tvs in the rooms.

At least 3-4 times a day I apologize to guests over and over while they complain and yell about how they were told such and such, and it turns out that isn't true, and they want me to fix it. It's like they think we are lying to them when we tell them that no, there really is NO SWIMMING POOL. We are not hiding it from you. We just don't have one.

The other day there was a woman who was almost Irate because she did not have a view of the dwellings from her window. I explained to her that the dwellings are about 30 min. down the road from us in different canyons, I'm very sorry for the confusion, we will make sure the people she made her reservations with are aware of what she was told and what the truth actually is, can we offer you free breakfast, you really do have one of our best views, I'm sorry for the confusion. and on and on. But Nothing I said would calm her down. She just Wanted to be angry I guess, because she just kept calling back and complaining. Over 5 times. and every time, I apologized and began asking What would she like me to do to make her stay more enjoyable? No.. I'm really sorry. There are No rooms at all that have a view of the dwellings..... You have one of the best views that we have available here...... I'm really, very sorry.... Why don't I just transfer you to my manager?

She called the manager over 5 times that night as well. I understand why she was angry, but at the same time there was Nothing else we could do. I feel sorry for that lady. Instead of just accepting that we had done our best to make her stay more comfortable and enjoying her vacation, she decided to stay angry over something no one could fix and let in ruin her night. :(

But anyway, if you decide to visit Mesa Verde (which you really should, because not only am I here, but it is a great place to learn about and see) and you make reservations through the 1-800 number, don't be angry if something they told you isn't 100% accurate. Oh, and September is a great month to come! It's warm in the day and really cools off at night, and it really isn't too busy because most families with kids have already gone back to school. :)

Week 4- Goat head soup and kiva rooms

2009-08-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been SO long since I've written. I've been working a LOT. We are starting our most busy time of the season. I guess August is the month in France when most people have time off, so we have been getting a LOT of French tours. It has been SO much fun learning about all the different people and cultures!! There are a couple things I've been learning and noticing about people. Some people are actually Really excited to be here and to be able to go and see all the dwellings. Other people really.. aren't. And it shows. I love it when people come in and are excited and smiling and happy.

I checked in a mom and her kids a couple nights ago. They were all Really Excited and happy to be there, asking questions about the dwellings and what is the best way to get to see as many of them as possible, if I liked working there, commenting on how much they enjoyed the scenery of the drive up into the park, stuff like that. I gave them the best room I could find, talked to them about the park and sent them on their merry way. The next day as we were going through all the check-ins and check-outs, we found a problem with over booking in a specific kind of room and decided that we would simply just upgrade someone. I remember the mom and kids that checked in the night before and asked if we could just upgrade them instead and give the overbooked people their old room, because it was the correct type of room. The mom was Ecstatic! I love doing that kind of thing for people who are actually happy and friendly and really appreciate it. The nicer you are, and the happier you are, the more we remember you, and try to make your trip as enjoyable as possible. Some people come in, are in a bad mood, complain about the drive up, complain about their room, and just really seem like they don't want to be there. We help those people as much as possible, but honestly, we try a little bit harder to help the people who are happy. So just a mental note.. The nicer and happier you are, the more people will remember you, and try to help you as much as possible :)

I finally got to go on a couple tours and see more of the park! It was AMAZING! It is SO interesting to see where these people lived and how they fixed problems they would run into. They built rooms underground called kivas. These rooms were warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Their were ventilation holes in the rooms to let smoke from fires rise out the top and let fresh air be sucked in through the sides. I was surprised at how smart these people were to find all these little solutions to there problems!!

A couple days ago we had Jamaican day! I got to try all kinds of interesting food they made! One of which was Goat head soup. They boiled parts of the goat head, strained it, and then mixed in veggies and stuff like that. it tasted like vegetable soup! but with a little more of a kick to it.

I'm also learning to speak Portuguese! A couple of the girls I work with are from Brazil and they are having SO much fun teaching me, and I am having SO much fun learning! I can't write very much yet, but I'm learning! I am Very excited about it!!

*saidinabritishaccent*

3 rules

2009-07-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

If you are an employee in a national park and your job involves driving a vehicle in the park there are 3 rules you Cannot break.

1. You Must wear your seat belt at all times.

2. You must keep your headlights turned on.

3. When stopping or parking the vehicle you MUST pull the emergency break.

If you have ever been the Mesa Verde, you know that the road into the park is narrow, twisty, and steep. Last night there was a man from maintenance mowing some grass on the side of the road. As he is mowing, he looks up just in time to see his truck flying off the edge of a Thousand foot cliff, one of the highest points in the park, and suddenly remembers. He forgot to pull the E Break.

Since he wasn't actually In the truck, they waited until today to figure out how to pull the completely totaled truck with 100 gallons of gasoline on the back of it (which by some miracle did Not catch of fire when it hit the bottom) back up onto the road without it catching on fire. They brought up tow trucks, they flew helicopters in to see what would be needed, and had 3-4 fire trucks on the road to prevent catching the forest on fire. All of this on the one road used to get in and out of the park. They decided to start at 12. so from noon on they would close the road for 30 min, then open one lane for 30 min, then close the entire thing again.
I got off work at 3 today, and normally there is a shuttle leaving the park at 3, so it would have worked out pretty well. except for the fact that the shuttle got stuck in stop and go traffic on its way down and then stuck on its way back up. One of the restaurants here opens at 5, so all the servers take the 3:45 shuttle up to work. At 4:30 we got a phone call from one of the servers on the shuttle saying they were stuck about 25 min away from work and the road would be closed for 20 min. At this point, I've been waiting for the shuttle for an hour and a half, people were starting to get a little frustrated, and now the servers couldn't make it up to work.... Awesome.
Thankfully the cooks come to work before 3:45, so they were there to prepare the food and feed all of us :)

I don't think I've even been more happy to see those servers than I was when they walked through the door and announced that the shuttle was there. I got home at around 6. Looking back on it, its actually pretty funny. One guy forgets to pull the E break One time, and it throws off the system of an entire national park.

Oh! And they finally managed to pull the mangled truck up onto the side of the road. It took a couple really big special tow trucks, but they got it :)

week 1

2009-07-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

To get to work each day I have to take the shuttle. It takes between 30-45 min to get all the way up the twisting bumpy road to the lodge. I work at the front desk, checking people in and out of their rooms and booking tours of the park for our guests. Right next to the front desk is one of the 2 places to get food in the evenings. The metate room. Each night the chiefs make a special meal for the employees to eat, and then get to work of preparing food for the rest of the night. I work with 2 girls from Brazil and one from Jamaica. They are all very sweet and helpful! I love my job. After work I normally come home, change clothes, and head over to the boys house to see what they are up to. Most nights they have dinner all ready and are just finishing setting the table. So far I've tried sushi, frog legs, and cow tongue. They love making things I've never tried before. and I love eating it, because, talk about your cultural experiences!! But speaking of dinner, I have to go eat and then off to bed! There's a shuttle with my name on it at 6 tomorrow morning!! I'll try to write more tomorrow on the way to work!

Unexpected Beginning...

2009-07-20T11:15:00.001-07:00

Picture a town. Population just over 1000 people. There are 2 gas stations. There is no other town for miles.

8 miles outside this town is a little cluster of 'Wobs' (Sheds that are big enough for 2 twin beds with about 3 feet of space between them where 2 people live) and a couple of ‘Mods’ (little houses that up to 6 people can live in). This is my new home.

When I accepted a job at Mesa Verde I wasn’t sure what to expect. I expected it to be hot. I expected there to be a lot of people. But I had no idea what was actually waiting for me.

One of the first people I met was a man named Claudio. He is from Romania. Then Lane, from the Philippians, Frank is native American, the list goes on and on. Every day I meet new people from different places, of different nationalities. At first I thought it might be hard to connect with many of them and become friends, so I was somewhat hesitant. I didn’t know how much we would actually have in common, or if they even wanted to be my friend.. Last night I went over to a mod where a couple of guys live and tried different kinds of sushi. It was So much fun!! I was shocked at how comfortable I felt around these people who I had thought would be SO different from me, and would be hard to connect with. Claudio made dinner for everyone and we sat down together to eat. An Ipod was playing music in the backround, a mixture of music from all the different cultures. Towards the end of the night I was starting to recognize words out of songs and could remember what they ment. So far, everyone I’ve met has been concerned about me being comfortable and me having everything that I need. J

Today will be my first day of work at the lodge. I’m Very excited to meet more people I work with and I hope to learn more about their cultures throughout the rest of my summer!!

I also have family home evening tonight with the singles group from the wards in towns nearby. I’m very excited!!

Food Court Musical

2008-04-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!!! It's an entire group of people, going around doing crazy things in random places. Nothing mean or scary, just funny things that everyone can enjoy. Or things that confuse other people. Just fun stuff like that.

On of these things is happening on May 15 and EVERYONE can get in on it!! On May 15th go Panic Buy carrots. Any store you can. As many as you can. Go to www.panicbuyers.com for more info!

And then they called him on a mission

2008-04-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Buddy left this morning! It didn't really hit me that he was really leaving until I walked into his room last night and saw him finishing packing his stuff. I love him a lot and I'm really going to miss him. He's my big brother, and he means the world to me!! I am SO proud of him and I can't wait to hear about all the fun experiences he has while he is away. I know he will be safe and taken care of, and he will be helping TONS of people. I love him with all my heart, and even though it is really hard to see him leave, I know that this is what he needs to be doing right now and he is going where he needs to go. I couldn't be more proud of him, and the amazing man he has become. This past weekend I watched him playing with our younger cousins, pushing them on the swings, and chasing them around the playground, and I decided that I want my future husband to be a lot like my big brother. :)

<3 Free Hugs<3

2008-04-10T02:20:00.000-07:00

I Love this video. Every time I watch it I laugh out loud because this Idea makes me so happy. Because sometimes, all someone needs is just a hug. <3 <3 <3

Theres no place like home....

2008-01-12T00:06:00.001-08:00

*There's no place like home*
*There's no place like home*
*There's no place like home*

For the past 4 months, thats all I could think. I couldn't wait to get back home! And now... I'm here.. and I want to go back to school. But I'm not going to. For the next few months I'll be here. Working. Saving money.

It'll be good to be home for a while... I think :)

I love my family. I'm happy to be here. Even if I don't act like it a lot of the time. I need to work on that...

What I've learned lately.

2007-12-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

I've been emailing one of my old EFY counselors for the past 3 weeks or so and this is what we have figured out together.

We are given friendship to uplift us, not drag us down.

You pick your friends. Don’t let them pick you.
-You need to WANT to be your friends friend for some reason other than the fact that they want to be friends with you.

“He that loveth not knoweth not God” John 4:8

-Apply this to your life. Love everyone and try to see them as your Father in Heaven sees them. Everyone deserves to be treated as a child of God, because we all are. It’d not just you and it’s not just me-try to see His children through Heavens eyes- not just your own. Also remember to look at yourself in this regard as well. Because you are His child. You deserve to be around people who treat you this way. Also remember that to have friends you have to be a friend. So live the golden rule, but don’t let someone walk all over you. Friendships and Friends are not perfect.

Sometimes you get burned out and other times you really just don’t feel like helping people (everybody gets this way) because after a while if seems like no one will help you. But don’t think that way. Father in Heaven is always there for you.

When you help others, you help yourself. Charity is the most essential thing you can ever learn to practice in your life. It’s hard and its not something you get worldly rewards for. But when you help others, you help yourself. And someday someone will help you. Actually I’d rather phrase it this way. Someday someone will save you. They’ll save you from yourself and you’ll save them from theirself. That’s what love is about. And love isn’t just about romance. It’s about everything. We were given all the opportunities we were given so that we can excel and those oppertunities were given to us because HE LOVE YOU. If you don’t remember anything else I’ve said remember that. Love is the key ingrediant throughtout life. If you don’t, you have nothing. But you have to make that love for yourself.

Life Hurts. It’s always going to hurt. And its never going to stop. But that’s what makes it so incredible. I feel alone more than ever, even when I am with my friends here. But it’s ok. It is completely ok.

Life is sticky. It’s a mess, But learn to love it, because it you don’t you never will.

A few weeks ago I reached a point in my life when I realized that I am never going to be the smartest, the prettiest, the fastest, the most talented, and since then, everything has started to go a lot better. Because no one is all of those things.

The Lord doesn’t make mistakes, and He made ME.

Mother Dear I Love You SOO

2007-11-09T00:54:00.000-08:00

While I was growing up, it was completely normal for me to come home from school to a plate of warm fresh baked cookies and a glass of milk. To hear "I love you" at LEAST 15 times a day. To get a hug and a kiss EVERY single time I got out of the car, no matter how embarrassing it was at the moment. To have a lunch sitting there all packed up and ready for me to take to school, ofter times everything in the lunch had a common theme like... circles or red, with a little note on the napkin saying how much I'm loved. To be able to come to my mom with homework problems and somehow, she always knew the answer.

To have a calender every summer that was completely hand made, with something fun to do on each day. Mondays= service day, and there would be a specific thing we would do for someone written on the day, Tuesdays= Library day, and there would be a topic we would find books on that day and we would study them until the next Tuesday. Wednesday= field trip day, where would go to the zoo or the museum, or the park, Thursday= activity day, making mud pies in the back yard, playing in the hose, stuff like that. Friday was friend day. Then there were themes for weeks. such as CRAZY CEREAL WEEK.

It wasn't a surprise for me to see at least one member of my family at pretty much every single performance I have ever been in. Then of course, afterwards it was a given that we would go out for ice cream.
Eating a home cooked meal together as a family happened pretty much every night.

I thought it was normal. I thought thats how all families were.

But then I came to college and I'm finding out how rare that actually is. I've always loved my mom, but I never actually realized how incredibly amazing she is. How she manages to go above and beyond the call of duty in her mommy job, and still have time to do other things. like being the young womans president, having a social life, somehow finding time to cut out coupons and then actually use them, to be able to go shopping with her teenage girls and know all about the lately styles and trends, and even dresses herself amazingly well too. And she runs marathons. And spends time with each child to know what is going on in their life, and tries to be as supportive as possible.

My Mom is without a doubt the most wonderful woman in the entire world. And I want her to know that. To know how much I really do love her. And how amazing she is, and what a great job she is doing at being the best mom in the world. I know I wasn't the easiest kid to raise, and that is probably why she got me. because she is the perfect mom for me. if anyone else was my mom, I would probably have ended up...well... not where I am right now.
Moving away from home is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but I'm ok. I'm doing ok because I KNOW that my mom loves me, and she taught me how to love everything, and to choose to have a good attitude about things I don't like. I know that she is always there for me. Even when I text her at 3 in the morning to tell her that the entire dorm building has been evacuated because someone threw smoke bombs down the hallway, and now I am standing outside FREEEEZING to death and just thought I would tell her, she texted me back. (and again, Sorry about that...)

Mom, I LOVE you!!!!!! VERY VERY MUCH!! and I just wanted you to know.

I love you more than I love putting limes in a bowl.....

You know you're in college when....

2007-10-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

quarters are like gold
two meals a day is standard
ROAD TRIP whenever possible
going to the mailbox was never an ego booster/breaker before
you will begin to nap again.
your bookstore bill will almost equal your tuition
squirt guns=stress relief.
e-mail become your second language
college students throw airplanes too!
you never realized SO Many people were smarter than you!
Western Europe could be wiped out by a horrible plague and you'd never know, but you can recite last weeks 'America's next top model' verbatim.
you will never rent more movies in your life
No one is too old for video games.
care packages are right up there with birthdays.
Campus is only clean for family weekend and freshman orientation
it never sucked so much to get sick!
nothing you want to register for will be open.
beware of the freshman 15
be creative in the dining hall!
classes: The later the better
You are no longer thankful that fire alarms are here to protect you.
Asleep by 2:30 AM is an early night
cereal makes a meal any timeof the day
New additions to food groups: Sams club soda, Ramen, an dPizza
ATMs and the devils advocate.
Duct tape heals all wounds
Keys have never been so important, yet you seem you seem to lose them more.
Showers become less important, sleep becomes more important.
you realize College in the ideal life style. Except for those pesky classes
Procrastination is an art form.
Jeans may be wore as many times as the wearer desires
the only time to dress up is when all your jeans are dirty
you'll eat anything if its free.
Cartoons are for all ages
No matter how Hard you try..... You are Never Alone.
A canceled class is almost better than christmas.
You will need to buy air freshener. Period.
Caffeine is an addition.
You can Never have enough snacks or money.
you can go trick or treating again!
You can go into wal-mart at any time of the night and see at least 10 people from your school shopping there too.
white boards become cool again.
you swear someone keeps stealing your socks.
skittles now count at a serving of fruit and potato chips are servings of vegetables.
Mom's home meals never looked so good.
the only time you meet a lot of people in your building at only is during a power outage.
you hear everything thats goig on in your neighbors room.
you would rather buy more clothes than wash them,
Febreeze is a MUST HAVE!

TP

2007-08-30T12:46:00.000-07:00

How much toilet paper would you guess 4 18 year old girls would go through on any given day? A roll, many a roll and a half? I think that seems pretty reasonable...
The FOUR of us together are going through close to 5 rolls a DAY. I wish I was kidding. The only reasonable conclusion we have been able to come to is that Someone is actually EATING the toilet paper....

This is the sign that is now posted in the bathroom:

1. 4 squares at MOST.
(If you poop, fold it over. NO exceptions)
2. No blowing noses. Tissue is in Trish's room on top of the microwave!
3. Use Every Last Bit! change the role when you have used the last of it.
4. NO EATING
5. Use only for potty purposes. (no makeup, spills, ect.)

Moving-out Moving-In

2007-08-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Walking into my Dorm building for the first time was probably one of the most scary experiences of my life. all around me were people unloading cars, hauling stuff up the stairs, hugging parents, crying, and laughing. I grabbed onto my moms hand and held on tight as we walked in and got into the registration line. After receiving my room floor and number a girl wearing a black "Adams State College RA" shirt came bounding out of nowhere, grabbed my hand, and took off up 3 flights of stairs, pointing at random buildings out the windows, talking about a mile a min. as if she only had 10 minuets left to live and she needed to pass on every single bit of information she had ever learned or suspected about the schools history, campus, and its teaching staff. When we arrived on my floor, she pointed out which room was mine, and went running off down the stairs again to go help some other poor unsuspecting victim.

I looked at my mom, who was looking back at me with an expression similar to having just gotten off a roller coaster ride at 6 flags. We walked into the room and looked around. there were men carrying massive amounts of stuff into on of our rooms but I didnt see any college looking girls. We went back downstairs and began unloading all my suitcases, boxes, and bags. I guess you never really realized how much stuff a girl can accumulate through out the first 18 years of her life until you need to drag it all up 3 flights of unconditioned stairs...

By the time I got back upstairs and begin unpacking, 2 of my roommates had arrived, both of them with SO much stuff I was amazed it could fit in the room. About one hour and 2 Wal-Mart trips later our last and final roommate checked in. Her and her mom brought up all of her stuff in a grand total of 2 loads, and were completely done unpacking within the hour.

After helping me get settled in and making sure I had everything that I would need for the next 3 months I said good-bye to mom and dad and watched them walk down the hall and turn the corner. I went back into my room and sat on my bed. So there I was. An 18 year old girl, completely alone, in a town the size of a peanut shell.... So now what?
I heard my roommates laughing in their room, so I went over to see what was going on. They had successfully managed to fit 2 refrigerators, 2 microwaves, 2 computers, 2 fans, multiple shelves, sporting equipment,a television,an xbox, a game cube, and their entire summer/fall/winter/spring wardrobes into their room along with their Beds, dressers and desks. Wow. When they saw me, they immediately ran over to me and hugged me as tight as possible as we all fell onto the bed laughing. Then we got out the guitar and began playing the never-ending game of guitar hero.........
This year is going to be....interesting.

Tips for working at Taco Bell

2007-06-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

10. Chihuahua's do not actually eat at Taco Bell
9. You're pretty much either a Burrito person, or you're not. Get over it.
8. When you come through the drive through, we just assume its 'To Go'. you don't need to tell us.
7. Supreme = with sour cream
6. Drive through is RARELY the fastest way to get your food
5. Learning spanish is not necessary. To communicate with the back room workers, just add el and O to everything. As in "I need el wiping towelo " EL WIPING TOWELO!
4. Talking louder will not make people understand you any better.
3. Beano doesn't work All the time
2. If you make static noises while talking to people on the Drive Thru speaker, they will automatically begin talking very loudly and slowly.
1. Even the most normal caucasian whitey-tighty Americans suddenly develope an accent like they just jumped that non-existent border fence from Mexico while ordering their food ("I'd like a Burrrrrrrrrrrito Suprrrrrrrrrrreme por favor!")

From the class Dad 2007

2007-05-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

They said write a letter and I did and it sucked

so I sat back down pushed pen on the paper

and the bleeding began as I looked back at the year

and this class that I fathered (cuz dadded ain’t a word)

You 2 brung it all year in Forensics and Debate

I heard you next door

Kids with helmets and caps bringing home mo’ metal from State

Andres cult scored a perfect 1

And the musical? How do you get that done?

Tonelli’s talent show proved he ain’t no Holla Back girl

it’s like Columbine Idol but way more vital

cuz we voted to school kids in a beautiful way

And what can I say about the Curious Savage?

There was money in a bear some violin and piano

crazy people who were smarter than average

(If I don’t mention Schwartz, she’s on me like Tony Soprano)

The list of our teams that went to the playoffs

is proof of the payoffs

of what it means to work like a Rebel

No teams in Jeffco can touch our skills and get offs!

Where else do I start?

In medias res?

I know one thing for sure my flow is suburbanI ain’t no Digress!

It’s from the top of my heart. This is pure love

Not a cliché (like the bottom they say)

I needed to say it in a way you don’t hear everyday

This class of Oh! Seven has brought a paternity

Suit against me to bless me and

They say I am dad-likebut without the maturity

It’s awkward for me

cuz I know there are more

Deserving than me

like Friesen, Webb, Pruett and Coach Ivory “We Are” Moore

Nonetheless I’m grateful to win the Tom Tonelli Award

And before him it was Chuck Herring who answered to Dad

Heck, I couldn’t even carry his history book bag

Chuck was a man who taught teachers some lessons

Bout gambling and love and 9/10th is possession

Chuck made “shut up” sound beautiful and just beneath mad

Thank you Chuck, for laughter from jokes that were…well…

bad

If Chuck Herring was a class dad

Then I’m nothing but a baby

In the tracks made deep for me

By a man synonymous with integrity

Peace out Oh! Seven

My flow is getting slowLike Travis DuffyRunnin the 4-0

But my love for you is huge as Hughes

And bigger than Ryan Miller shoes

And higher than Veronica Selzer’s class ranking

And sweeter than a cookie from McKee

Like a graduation speech from Samantha Murray

Like Lloyd Dobbler and his boom box

I gave you my heart…

Thanks for throwing

Yours back to me

-LloydDobbler

Goals for my life

2007-05-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

(These goals are in no particular order, just to be completed before I die. The ones in Bright Blue are the only I already finished! (List created by Amber and Hannah during Adv. Video Class 2007))

1.Travel to every continent
2.Learn to skateboard
3.See the seven wonders of the world
4.Mountian climbing
5.Bungee Jumping
6.Ride in a hot air balloon
7.Meet the prophet of the Mormon Church
8.Meet the president
9.Skydive
10.Scuba diving
11.Snorkelling
12.Speak Spanish Fluently
13.Speak Portugese Fluently
14.Go on a cruise
15.Retire some day
16.Graduate High School
17.Grow a butterfly garden
18.Grow a normal garden
19.Make a Scrapbook of my life (Thanks MOM!)
20.Visit a theatre on broadway
21.Have a food fight
22.Sponser a Charity
23.Christmas in New York
24.Go Shopping in Paris
25.Parachute Jump
26.Sleep under the stars
27.Go Shopping in New York
28.Visit the Pyramids
29.Go to Las Vegas
30.Whale Watching
31.See the Northern Lights
32.Canyoning
33.Survival Weekend!
34.Bull Riding
35.Dog Sledging
36.Kayaking
37.Paintballing
38.REAL Rockclimbing
39.Snowboarding
40.Drive a Monster truck
41.Experience Zero Gravity
42.Fly in a helicoptor
43.Go Off-Roading
44.Have my Portrait Painted
45.Go on a city Shopping Spree
46.Drive along route 66 USA
47.Plan an unplanned stops Road trip
48.Float in the dead sea
49.See the Eiffel Tower
50.See the Grand Canyon
51.See the Great Wall of China
52.See Niagara Falls
53.See the Aztec Ruins
54.See the statue of Christo Redentor
55.See the Statue of Liberty
56.Stay in a walmart over night
57.Stay in a Taco Bell over night
58.Visit the Panthenon
59.Visit The Colosseum In Rome
60.Visit The Great Barrier Reef
61.Visit The Tower Of Pisa
62.Visit The Sydney Opera House And Harbour Bridge
63.Run Across The San Fransisco Bridge
64. Visit Taj Mahal
65.Visit The Tower Of London
66.Visit Versailles
67.Visit The Four Corners
68.Participate In An Auction
69.Trace My Family Tree On Both Sides
(all the way back into the 1500’s baby!)
71.Hold A Big Spider
72.Ride A Horse Along The Beach
73.Swim In The Ocean
74.Swim With Dolphins
75.Learn Basic Phrases In At Least 5 Languages
76.Read A Book A Month For A Year
77.Sit In Diapers And Have A Lord Of The Rings Marathon
78.Sit In Diapers And Have A Star Wars Marathon
79.Learn Ballroom Dancing
80.Dye My Hair Pink
81.Be Kissed Mid-Sentence
82.Take A Walk In Central Park, New York
83.Fall In Love
84.Milk A Cow
85.Attempt Homelessness
86.Be Kissed In The Rain
87.Watch Every Disney Movie Ever Made
88.Backpack Europe
89.Visit Germany
90.Share The Lord With Auditorium of people (EFY Director baby)
91.Visit The Mesa Verde

Workin Woman

2007-05-13T16:45:00.000-07:00

I worked at Party City as a cashier for about 7 months, and ended up quitting about a month ago. And over the past month my suddenly limited amount of money has been disappearing faster than I would like to admit. I decided it was time for me to get a new job, So I went around a applied to several different places, and waited. Went back into the stores to make sure they had a chance to look over my application, and filled out more applications. It seemed like NOBODY wanted to hire me!!! AHH!!!! A couple weeks ago my mom told me that she thought that if I paid my tithing I would find a job a lot faster, and I know she was right, but I didn’t have much money left, so I decided to just remember how much I had, and then pay tithing on ALL of it once I got a new job. A week went by. Still 100% unemployed. Over the past couple months I have been getting worse and worse at reading my scriptures every morning and night, so on Thursday I decided to try and read every day. That morning I read. That night our family went to see the musical Wicked (the BEST musical EVER! I’ve seen in twice and am pretty much in LOVE with it!!). During intermission I turned my phone on to check my messages. One of my friends had called to tell me that there was a job available where she worked and her manager wanted to hire me!!! At first I wasn’t really all that excited, because it’s a job at Taco Bell, and lets just face it, that’s probably one of the LAST places that I want to work at…ever… but then she said that I wouldn’t be just a regular worker. They wanted me to be a manager!! After Wicked I went home, read my scriptures and went to bed. The next day Chris (the general manager) called me and asked me to come down there with my SS card and license, because I was hired!!! I was SO excited!! He told me that he was going to train me as fast as possible, so the next day I started learning all about what I needed to do. Within the next week I will be done with training and be an official manager!! YAY!!!! Every time I read my scriptures, sometimes good happens! Sometimes it takes a while; sometimes it happens that same day, but I’m always blessed!! I’m happy to be manager, even if it is at Taco Bell. And I’m excited to be TOTALLY done with school on Friday!!! AH!! Its SO crazy!! But even more exciting!! I wonder what will happen after I graduate……

who do i look like?

2007-05-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.myheritage.com

sometimes you have to flush the toilet yourself

2007-05-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

When I was almost 4 years old I went to Disney World for the first time. It was a magical place. A place where cartoons were alive, everyone was happy, and the toilets flushed all by themselves. To most kids that go to Disney world the rides are their favorite thing. But they weren’t mine. Don’t get me wrong, the rides were fun and everything, but for me the main attraction in Disney world were the magical flushing toilets. When I was 4, these things were amazing! I would walk into the bathroom, sit down, and sing "it’s a small world" for as long as my mom would let me. If you think I’m kidding ask anyone in my family. I'm not. I had never seen anything like this before! Here I was, in one of the most magical places in the world, a place were people from all over the world would come to visit, and all I wanted to do was sit on a toilet and sing. As I got older, I realized that the cartoon characters were really just people, sometimes the rides broke down, and most of the time, you have to flush the toilet all by yourself.

Heres your help

2007-04-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

So in Sports like Lacross when one person has the ball and is running with it a lot of times they are running ahead of their team members and in the middle of the other team. Then one of their team mates will run up along side the guy with the ball and yell "Heres your Help!"

I was thinking about that the other day..... one person leaves the group of people he is familiar with to run into a group of people he doesn't know so he can just be there as backup.

Would I be willing to do that? probably...... I would always be there for my friends even if they were in a huge group of people I dont know... But I dont think anyone would be there for me...
I mean, I have lots of friends who love me, but no close friends anymore. and I dont understand why. Everyone else has a little group of friends that they always hang out with and they know eachother pretty well and stuff. But I missed that part of High School I guess. I haven't had that since 6th grade. and I act like I'm totally happy pretty much all the time, and I really am most of the time. But sometimes, late at night, I cry, because nobody hears me. I'm one of the nicest girls in my school. Ask anyone who knows me and they will say she is cute and she is Really nice. I do nice things for people because that is how I show love. That is how I feel love. When someone does something nice for me, it makes my ENTIRE day. That is why I do nice things for people. So that maybe..one day.. someone will see that outside I'm smiling and nice and happy, but inside I'm SCREAMING for someone to love me.. for someone to run up and hug me..and just hold me for a couple min. and let me know that everything is ok... that I am ok. That I will be ok... someone to be my help..... Treat others the way you want to be treated. That is what I have always been taught. I'm treating people how I want to be treated..... So wheres my help?..... maybe some of us were just always ment to be the helper... never the help..ie? Dont ge3t me wrong, some peopledo do nice things for me. Like sometimes my mom will leave these really cute notes in my room, and she will drive me from where i parked my car up to the school building when it was raining, and she is really just pretty much AMAZING. Sh does Everything she can and is doing the best she can, which is more amazing than anyone I have ever known!
But shes not the one Im having trouble feeling love from. I dont know what is wrong with me!! for the pas couple weeks i have been going through these different feelings of being really sad and then really happy, really scared and really excited, I feel like I am going CRAZY!! Im excited to Graduate, but really scared about what my future will be. every day for my entire life i have woken up, and done pretty much the same thing. gone to school. but now what? what do I do with my life now? with my time? I dont like this. I dont know what I want.
But Its pretty late and I promised my mom I would be ontime for family scripture study tomorrow morning at 5:30 and then be ontime to seminary at 6:00... and be all dressed and ready to go to school before I leave. so this means.... like...5 hours of sleep tonight? its gonna be a good day tomorrow...!!

Memoir...Maybe...

2007-04-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'm suppose to write a my very own memoir and then turn it into my English teacher in about 2 weeks.Normally I have no problem writing down a bunch of stuff about my life and letting other people read it. But for some reason, I'm having a LOT of trouble with this! I can't seem to find anything to write about!! i have a ton of memories! but I cant think of anything that has really shaped my life. That one big AHA! moment and then I was never the same again. Everyone around me has all these stories and memories that they are writing about and talking about how this happened to them and they saw that, and that is why they are the way they are and they have these way intense sob stories about people they have known that have died and how that changed their life forever and blah blah blah. I don't understand how all these people who are about my same age can already have SO much figured out about them self. All i know is that my name is Hannah, I'm 18, my family loves me, God loves me, Etc. It's not like I'm lost and confused and depressed or anything... I just don't have a moment that changed my life. I don't really have anything different to say about myself. I mean.. I'm Mormon, and that's different than most people, but I've always been Mormon. So its not like one day it just hit me. I've just always known. I heard all these stories about how one moment and over a week or a month peoples whole lives are changed and stuff... but I don't have a story like that. I'm just me. I don't know what i am suppose to be, or do. I;m really scared about what I am going to do after High School. I want to move on with my life. Get it really started. My 2 closest friends from high school graduated last year, and one of them is married and the other one will be married in less than a month. They are starting their lives. They found someone who is not a part of their family who loves them SO much that they are willing to spend the res of their life with them. It's like a Disney movie. a fairy tale. with a happy ending.well... beginning... but an ending too... I don't understand how 2 people can say that for the rest of their life they will always be together, and basically act as one.. but 2 different people.... I don't understand it. But then I loo at my grandparents, and my parents, and I see how much they all love each other. I don't think I will ever find that. I want to, but where am I gonna find that guy? what if he is here, and I go off to school somewhere else, and we never find each other? Then am I just gonna be all alone Forever? I'm scared that I might be... I don't want to die alone. I don't want to live all alone when I'm 30, and wake up in the night wonder if maybe I would have done something differently.... If maybe I would have just gone to the store that one day I would have met someone, and maybe I would have eventually married them.. I don't want that to happen. I want someone to love me and be with me because they want to.not because they are my family and are stuck with me(don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that I have my family, and i wouldn't EVER want a different one, because I love them SO much and LOVE being with them! And they are my favorite family EVER)but because they love me so much for who I am and they want to be with me forever. I want that SO bad! and I'm starting to think that I will never find it. But then I remember that I am only18 and still have a LONG time before i get married or anything... but I just really hope that I am in all the right places now, so I will be able to be in the right place then..., But its hard... When I get together with my whole family, and I am treated like 3/4 adult and 1/4 kid.or really actually 1/2 kid 1/2 adult. i wanna be all adult. I want to be able to go to the store without asking my mom and my dad and my grandma and so on and so forth. I want to be able to make my own choices and make plans and stuff like that without running it through an entire chain of people, writing a 5 page essay on it, and then waiting while 5 other people review it and then give me the OK to go. Do they realize that my friends are getting married, buying houses, getting ready to have kids of their own, and stuff like that? one of my friends I go to school with is engaged, has her wedding planned, has the dress, her bridesmaids have their dresses,the date is set, and the guy she is marrying has a baby that he raises pretty much by himself except she lives with him and takes care of the baby while he is at work and stuff, and they bought a house and are just waiting for it to be done. my friends and looking at what color to paint their living room, while I'm over here decided what color to paint my nails. Everyone looks like they have a general idea of what they are going to do with their life, and I have no clue at all. I want to get married, and have kids, and be happy, and spend LOTS of time with my family, and have a great lifelike that. I was watching my Aunt with her kids the other day, and way just thinking, man.... she is not even 10 years older than me I don't think and she has a husband who loves her to death, 2 kids and one on the way, a house, a place in life where she knows she should be. i want that life. I want to be sure about what is going to happen during the day when I wake up. I was the responsibility of taking care of other people and myself too. i want to be able to decorate a house, and make choices, and try new things, and know that someone loves me for just being me SO much that they committed the rest of their life to me, because they wanted to.WOW. I hadn't planned on writing this much. but I guess when you don't write about all this stuff fora while it all just kinda piles up inside of you and then EXPLODES when it finally gets a chance to get out!I know.. my spelling is really bad, because I'm typing fast and not checking what keys I'm hitting. I know my spelling sucks. So on that happy note, I'm off to finish Ghost Whisper and then go to bed!

*Hoping For Hannah*